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artificial lake

artificial lake

1 3.5
A man-made area that holds water for a town, farm, or park
  • noun
  • /ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃəl leɪk/
translation icon : lago artificial
  • The center of the gracefully terraced site had been hollowed out to accommodate an artificial lake fed by water drained from the nearby Chattahoochee River.
  • the large artificial lake
  • the two artificial lakes
  • create an artificial lake

Examples

  • The community enjoys recreational activities at the beautiful artificial lake created for their use.

  • "The dining area was almost as luxurious as the hostel's publicity claimed, with semi-private terraces ringing a central public space where the tables stood on islands in an artificial lake."

    Fiction book (1990)
  • That's an artificial lake at Echo Park.

  • Purni Bore is an artificial lake, made in 1963 when the French Petroleum Company came looking for oil.

    Blog text (3)
  • That Sunday, I took Claudia to the Metalfest at Bayshore, an artificial lake in the middle of absolutely nowhere, New Mexico.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • There was an artificial lake, with a statue of Neptune overseeing the lake, lazily surveying it.

    Blog text (11)
  • The combined surface area of just two of the artificial lakes on the Colorado River, Lakes Mead and Powell, for example, is more than 500 square miles, or about half the size of Rhode Island.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The long finger-like extensions of Lake Volta, thickened by the Akosombo dam, reach across the country, making it the world's largest artificial lake.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Throughout this 344-acre site, there are rides and displays geared to the US theme: a paddle steamer on an artificial lake, a Santa Fe railway, and a Rocky Mountain log flume.

    Academic text (1990)
  • After heavy rains, the artificial lake filled up quickly and became a popular spot for picnics.

Synonyms

reservoir
vsartificial lake
86 4.3

A large area, like a lake, that stores water or other liquids

is narrower, referring only to created waterbodies for community or other uses
man-made lake
vsartificial lake
1 2.8

A lake made by people to hold water for a town or for people to enjoy

is the alternate phrasing used for the same created waterbody
impoundment
vsartificial lake
1 7.3

A place where water is kept behind a dam for storage

is the created waterbody itself rather than the structure that holds it

How Big

reservoir
86 4.3
lake
793 1.0
artificial lake
1 3.5
pond
266 1.0
puddle
80 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

artificial + lake

The phrase 'artificial lake' is directly compositional: 'artificial' means man-made and 'lake' is a body of water, so the noun phrase straightforwardly denotes a man-made body of water. This modifier+noun pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English grammar, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Artificial lake gives a clear picture: people dig a hole or build a small dam to hold water, so the artificial lake is 'man-made' rather than natural. That's why it means a body of water made by people 'to store water' or for towns, farms, or parks.